System and method for vessel alignment

ABSTRACT

A vessel including an identification region may be placed in a holder. Through interaction of a positioning feature on the vessel and an orientation feature on the holder, the vessel can be placed into an alignment orientation, e.g., such that the identification region may be reliably read by a reader. The identification region may provides information related to the sample, such as vessel identity, sample volume, processes to be performed on the sample, and so on.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Systems and methods for automatic alignment of a vessel with respect toa holder are generally disclosed.

2. Related Art

Samples that are used for research and analysis applications arecommonly placed within vessels that are themselves held by a rack,robotic manipulator or other holder so that the vessels can besubsequently processed downstream. Vessels are often marked, for examplewith a barcode, so that an optical scanner can identify each vessel byits marking, e.g., before the vessel is placed into a rack.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The inventor has appreciated that for some applications, reliableidentification of vessels and/or samples within vessels that are placedin a rack or other holder can be important to do in a high throughputmanner. In some aspects presented herein, a vessel having a sample (suchas a blood sample) and an identification region (such as a bar code) isplaced in a holder. The holder may be a relatively stationary element,such as a tube rack, multiwall plate, carousel, etc., or may be a moremobile element, such as a robotic manipulator, conveyor or othertransport. The identification region, when read, may provide informationrelated to the sample within the vessel, e.g., an identity of thevessel, an origin of the sample, and so on. By virtue of a positioningfeature on the vessel and an orienting feature on the holder, the vesselmay be automatically placed into an alignment orientation. When thevessel is in or moved to the alignment orientation, the identificationregion of the vessel may be exposed or otherwise located relative to areader so the identification region can be read reliably. In otherembodiments, positioning of the vessel at the alignment orientation mayfacilitate further physical handling of the vessel, e.g., a vessel in aknown alignment orientation may be transferred from the holder toanother device, such as a vessel transport. Since the vessel may betransferred in a known orientation, further reading of theidentification region or other handling of the vessel may beaccomplished in a desired way.

In one illustrative embodiment, a system for handling and analyzingsamples is provided. The system may include a vessel for holding atleast one biological sample, such as a blood sample taken from a body.The vessel may include an identification region for providinginformation related to the at least one sample and a positioning featurefor use in orienting the vessel in an alignment orientation. A holdermay be arranged to receive the vessel at a location and include anorienting feature that complements or otherwise interacts with thepositioning feature of the vessel such that when the holder receives thevessel, the vessel is placed in the alignment orientation relative tothe holder. A reader may read the identification region of the vesseland store information related to the at least one sample when the vesselis in, or moved to, the alignment orientation.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method for handling and analyzingsamples is provided. The method includes providing a vessel for holdingat least one sample where the vessel includes an identification regionthat provides information related to the at least one sample. The vesselmay be placed in a holder and the vessel may be aligned with respect tothe holder using a positioning feature of the vessel and an orientingfeature of the holder that interacts with the positioning feature. Thus,when the holder receives the vessel, the vessel may be placed in analignment orientation relative to the holder. The identification regionof the vessel may be read, and information related to the at least onesample may be stored.

Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of various non-limitingembodiments of the invention when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying figures and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the invention are described with reference to the followingdrawings in which numerals reference-like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a system for handling andanalyzing samples in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vessel having a positioning featureand being disposed in a holder in accordance with aspects of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another vessel having a positioningfeature and being disposed in a holder in accordance with aspects of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a vessel held by a vessel manipulator prior tobeing placed in a holder in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the vessel of FIG. 4 placed in the holder andbeing rotated in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the vessel of FIG. 4 placed in the holder andbeing rotated further in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the vessel of FIG. 4 placed in the holder withthe positioning feature and the orientation feature being aligned inaccordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the vessel of FIG. 4 placed in the holder andthe identification region being read in accordance with aspects of theinvention;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 with the vessel placedin the holder and being rotated in accordance with aspects of theinvention;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 6 with the vessel placedin the holder and being rotated further in accordance with aspects ofthe invention;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 7 with the vessel placedin the holder with the positioning feature and the orientation featurebeing aligned in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a vessel being held by a vesselmanipulator and being located above a holder in accordance with aspectsof the invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the vessel of FIG. 12 located in theholder and not being in an aligned orientation in accordance withaspects of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the vessel of FIG. 12 located in theholder and not being in an aligned orientation in accordance withaspects of the invention;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the vessel of FIG. 12 located in theholder and being in an aligned orientation in accordance with aspects ofthe invention;

FIG. 16 is a top view of a vessel having a positioning feature and beingin an aligned orientation in a holder and the positioning feature beingadjacent to slanted portions of a orientation feature in accordance withaspects of the invention;

FIG. 17 is a schematic side view of the vessel of FIG. 16 having thepositioning feature and being in an aligned orientation in the holder;

FIG. 18 is a top view of a vessel having a positioning feature and beingin an aligned orientation in a holder and the positioning feature beingadjacent to a stop feature in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic side view of the vessel of FIG. 18 having thepositioning feature and being in an aligned orientation in the holder;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a vessel having a positioning featurebeing associated with a orientation feature in accordance with anotheraspect of the invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic side view of the vessel of FIG. 20 having apositioning feature being associated with a orientation feature inaccordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 22 is a side view of a vessel having an upper and a lower portionin a holder in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a lower end of the vessel of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a section view of the lower end of the vessel of FIG. 22 inthe holder; and

FIG. 25 is a side view of an embodiment of a vessel having a spiralportion in a holder in accordance with aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the invention described herein are directed generally toorientation and/or identification of vessels placed in a holder, e.g.,for biological and medically-related applications. Various illustrativeembodiments are described below with reference to particularapplications. However, it should be understood that the followingdescription is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. Other embodimentsmay be employed and aspects of the inventions may be practiced orcarried out in various ways. For example, vessels may be used to carryany suitable material, such as drugs used in screening applications,minerals used to assess the composition of rocks or similar substances,and so on, and are not limited to carrying blood or other body or tissuesamples.

In some illustrative embodiments, a vessel having a sample can bereliably identified through features that provide for automaticalignment of an identification region of the vessel with a reader. Insome embodiments, the vessel may include a positioning feature such thatupon placement of the vessel in a holder, the vessel may beautomatically placed into an alignment orientation such that theidentification region can be suitably read by the reader. In oneembodiment, the holder may include an orienting feature that complementsthe positioning feature of the vessel and aids in locating the vessel inthe alignment orientation. Through automatic alignment of the vessel,studies that employ a large number of sample vessels may at least havevessel identification performed reliably in a high throughput, efficientmanner.

By way of example, FIG. 1 shows a system 100 for handling sample vessels10. In this embodiment, each of the vessels 10 includes a positioningfeature 15 that may be used to help orient a vessel 10 when placed in aholder 20, such as a rack-like arrangement shown in FIG. 1. Vessels 10may or may not include samples 11, such as a blood sample, and/or anidentification region 12, such as a bar code. For example, vessels 10 a,10 b and 10 e are shown to include samples 11 a, 11 b, and 11 e,respectively, whereas samples 11 are not provided in vessels 10 c and 10d. In addition, vessels 10 a, 10 b, 10 c, and 10 e are shown to includeidentification regions 12, while vessel 10 d does not have anidentification region 12. In this illustrative embodiment, the holder 20includes a plurality of locations 25 where a vessel 10 may be received,and each location 25 has a corresponding orientation feature 23. Thelocations 25 are formed as a generally cylindrically-shaped opening toreceive the tubular vessels 10, and the orientation feature 23 at eachlocation 25 has a slot-like opening to receive a tab-shaped positioningfeature 15 of a corresponding vessel 10. However, as described in moredetail below, the shape, size and/or other characteristics of thevessels 10, holder 20, positioning features 15 and orientation features23 may have any other suitable arrangement.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, when a vessel 10 having apositioning feature 15 is placed in a holder 20 having a orientationfeature 23, the positioning feature 15 of the vessel 10 and theorientation feature 23 of the holder 20 may interact so that the vessel10 is placed in a suitable alignment orientation relative to the holder20. In this example, the tab-like positioning feature 15 of the vessel10 may be received in the slot-like opening of the orientation feature23 so that the vessel 10 is oriented (in a rotary sense about thevessel's longitudinal axis) in a desired way relative to the holder 20.Positioning of the vessel 10 in an alignment orientation, i.e., a knownorientation relative to the holder 20, may provide benefits, such asproperly positioning an identification feature 12 for reading, and/orpositioning the vessel 10 in a known way so that other components canproperly interact with the vessel. For example, in some circumstances, avessel in a known orientation may be more reliably picked up and removedfrom the holder 20 by a robotic manipulator. In some cases described inmore detail below, interaction between a positioning feature 15 and anorientation feature 23 may allow for the vessel 10 to be automaticallyplaced in an appropriate alignment orientation, e.g., the positioningand orientation features may interact to cause movement of the vessel 10to the alignment orientation.

The vessels 10 may be manipulated by hand when placed in the holder 20,e.g., an operator may place individual vessels 10 into locations 25 of aholder 20 like that in FIG. 1, or the vessels 10 may be placed by anautomated system. For example, FIG. 1 shows a vessel manipulator 200that has the general form of a robotic device with an arm 210 andgripper 220 that may be used to physically manipulate one or morevessels 10. The vessel manipulator 200 may be arranged to move vessels10 with any suitable degree(s) of freedom, such as moving vessels 10linearly, rotating vessels 10 about any suitable axis or axes, and soon. For example, a vessel manipulator 200 may grasp vessel 10 a,position the vessel 10 a over a suitable location 25 a, and place thevessel 10 in the holder 20. When placing the vessel 10, the vesselmanipulator 200 may lower the vessel 10 a into the location 25 a, or maydrop the vessel 10 a from a point above the location 25 a. As usedherein, a vessel is received by a holder when the vessel is at leastpartially associated with the holder so that the holder may have atleast some influence on the position of the vessel. In this respect, theholder may be considered to have received the vessel without the vesselbeing fully engaged by, and oriented with respect to, the holder.Similarly, when a vessel is said to be “in” a holder, it is understoodto refer to conditions including where the vessel is received by theholder as well as when the vessel is at an alignment orientation. Asdescribed in more detail below, the vessel 10 may be placed into alocation 25 at or near a desired orientation (e.g., so that thepositioning feature 15 a and orientation feature 23 a of the vessel 10 aare engaged), or the vessel 10 may be placed into a location 25 withoutany, or a more limited, regard to its orientation (e.g., such that thepositioning feature 15 a and orientation feature 23 a of the vessel 10 aare not engaged). For example, the manipulator 200 may place vessels 10so that a lower end is generally received at the location 25, but therotational position of the vessel 10 about its longitudinal axis may notbe controlled, e.g., so that the positioning feature 15 and theorientation feature 23 are not aligned. Such placement techniques may beused, for example, when the positioning and orientation features arearranged to interact so as to cause movement of the vessel to analignment orientation. In other embodiments, the manipulator 200 or usermay place the vessel at a location 25 so that the positioning feature 15and the orientation feature 23 are engaged and the vessel 10 is in thealignment orientation.

As mentioned above, interaction of the positioning feature 15 andcounterpart orientation feature 23 at a location 25 of a holder 20 mayorient the vessel 10 so that the identification region 12, if present,may be read by a reader 30. The identification region 12 and reader 30may take any suitable form so that the identification region 12 mayexchange information to the reader 30 in one-way or two-way fashion. Forexample, the identification region 12 may include a barcode or othermarking that is read by the reader 30, e.g., using a scanning laser,video camera or other imaging device and associated image analysiscircuitry, or other arrangement. Markings used for identificationregions 12 may be made by any suitable method, such as written by handor formed by a machine that etches, prints, applies a label or otherwiseforms the marking In other embodiments, the identification region 12 mayinclude an active or passive RFID tag or other device that is capable ofcommunicating with the reader 30 using electromagnetic radiation orother suitable medium. In another embodiment, the identification region12 may include physical structures that may be contacted by the reader30, e.g., an arrangement of bumps, grooves, tabs or other features, thatmay be interpreted by the reader 30 in a way similar to how a lock candetect the physical features of a key. Alternately, the reader 30 mayelectrically contact the identification region 12, e.g., to detect aresistance or other electrical characteristic that representsinformation. Other identification region 12 arrangements are possible,including those using infrared light communication, wireless electroniccommunication, and so on.

Information related to the sample 11 that is represented by theidentification region 12 may relate to any desired characteristic of thevessel and/or the sample. In some embodiments, the information mayrelate to particular chemical, biological and/or other properties of thesample, e.g., an identity of the person from which the sample was taken,a blood type, a volume of the sample, chemical identity, cellcharacteristics, molecular properties, and/or the like. Such informationmay or may not be unique to each sample. In some embodiments, theinformation may relate to identification of the particular vessel, e.g.,representing a vessel identity, vessel size, shape or othercharacteristics, and so on. In some cases, the identification region 12may include information based on the type of test or analysis performedor to be performed on the sample. For example, prior to testing of asample, the identification region may relate to the specific vessel thatis being used. After a sample is tested and placed in the vessel, theidentification region may be updated, by any suitable method, so thatinformation related to the nature of the vessel and/or the sample withinthe vessel may be appropriately identified. In some embodiments, anidentification region may be suitably provided on the vessel after thesample is placed in the vessel. The identification region 12 may includethe actual information itself, e.g., a name of a person, the actualsample volume, etc., or the identification region 12 may include areference used to locate or otherwise determine such information, e.g.,the identification region 12 may include a number or other alphanumericstring that can be used as an address to locate correspondinginformation in an appropriate database or other store. Information readfrom an identification region 12 may be stored or otherwise used, asdesired. As an example, the information conveyed by an identificationregion of a vessel to a reader may be stored as electronic data by ancomputer storage device associated with the reader 30, e.g., analphanumeric string read from the identification region 12 may be storedtogether with other information regarding the vessel, such as itslocation in a holder, and so on.

The reader 30 may be arranged to read the identification region 12 ofone or more vessels 10 in a holder 20, if the holder 20 includes morethan one location 25. In some embodiments, the holder 20 may betranslucent or transparent to electromagnetic radiation used by thereader 30 to read identification regions 12. In other embodiments, theholder 20 may have a window or other opening to permit the passage ofradiation or other components for reading an identification region 12,as necessary. In other embodiments, the reader 30 may have componentsmounted to the holder 20, e.g., for reading identification regions 12 onvessels 10 located away from the outer periphery of the holder 20. Forexample, the reader 30 may include an imaging device, set of electricalcontacts or other sensor for each location 25 so that the identificationregion 12 for each vessel 10 may be read by a single correspondingsensor. In certain cases, the reader 30 may be able to read anidentification region 12 even if the identification region 12 is notdirectly facing the reader 30 or otherwise positioned ideally forreading purposes. For example, the identification region 12 may notnecessarily be ideally positioned for reading, but the reader 30 may becapable of reading the identification region 12 anyway, e.g., in thecase of an RFID tag/reader arrangement. However, in general, desiredengagement between the positioning feature 15 and the orientationfeature 23 may position the vessel 10 so that the reader 30 can morereliably read the identification region 12.

Engagement of a positioning feature with an orientation feature may helporient or fix the position of the vessel in one or more directions(e.g., one or more linear directions, rotational directions or others).FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a location 25 of the holder 20 inFIG. 1, along with further detail regarding the tab-like positioningfeature 15 engaged with a respective orientation feature 23, which has aslot-like shape. When the positioning feature 15 of the vessel 10 inthis embodiment is received by the orientation feature 23, the vessel 10may be oriented both rotationally (so that the identification feature 12is suitably located for interaction with a reader 30) and axially (in anup and down direction along the longitudinal axis of the vessel 10) sothe vessel 10 is located at a desired depth at the location 25.Alternately, the vessel 10 may be supported at its bottom end by theholder 20 instead of being supported axially by the positioning feature15.

Although in the embodiment shown the positioning feature 15 includes atab-like extension that extends radially from the vessel 10, it shouldbe appreciated that the positioning feature 15 may be any appropriatesize, shape or design, and may help orient the vessel in one or moredirections relative to the holder 20. For example, the positioningfeature 15 may have a triangular shape, have multiple elementprojections, be curved, have sharp edges, or combinations thereof.Likewise, the orientation feature 23 may have a size, shape or otherfeatures that complement the positioning feature 15, and may complementthe shape of a plurality of different types of positioning features 15.For example, the vessel 10 may have a plurality of tab extensions and beplaced in the holder 20 such that the extensions of the positioningfeature 15 reside in slots of the orientation feature 23. The tab-likeextensions may extend away from one another in opposite directions,could extend perpendicularly relative to each other, or at anotherangle. It should also be appreciated that structural features of apositioning feature 15 may be arranged opposite to that shown, e.g., sothat the orientation feature 23 includes a tab or other extension thatengages with a slot of the positioning feature 15 in the vessel 10.

As another illustrative example, FIG. 3 shows an embodiment where thepositioning feature 15 includes both a tab-like projection and a rim atthe top of the vessel 10. The orientation feature 23 of the holder 20may include a recess 22 to receive the rim of the positioning feature 15in addition to the tab-like element. Engagement between the rim at thetop of the vessel 10 and the recess 22 of the orientation feature 23 mayhelp center the vessel 10 in the cylindrical hole at the location 25and/or locate the vessel appropriately along its longitudinal axisrelative to the holder 20, e.g., the rim may support the weight of thevessel 10. While not explicitly shown in FIGS. 1-3, the orientationfeature and/or the positioning feature may include a beveled shape orother arrangement that helps the positioning feature more easily engagewith the orientation feature. For example, the recess 22 in FIG. 3 mayhave a tapered or funnel-shaped upper region to aid in the properreception of the positioning feature 15. In some embodiments, the holderand/or the vessel may be shaken, vibrated or otherwise moved to help aidinteraction of the positioning feature and the orientation feature.

Although some embodiments may require relatively careful placement ofthe vessel in a holder to engage the positioning and orientationfeatures, in other embodiments, a vessel may be placed in a holderwithout regard for at least some aspects of the orientation of thevessel. FIGS. 4-11 show an illustrative embodiment in which a vessel 10may be placed into a location 25 of a holder 20 without regard for atleast a rotational aspect of the orientation of the vessel 10. In thisembodiment, the vessel 10 has a positioning feature 15 that includes acircular rim at a top end of the vessel 10 with a flat portion 16.(FIGS. 9-11 show a top view of the vessel 10 and more clearly illustratethe “D” shape of the positioning feature 15.) The orientation feature 23at the holder 20 includes a generally cylindrically-shaped opening witha flat section 24 that complements the positioning feature 15. In thisembodiment, the vessel 10 is dropped into a location 25 of the holder 20so that the flat 16 of the positioning feature 15 may or may not matchup with the flat section 24 of the orientation feature 23 (see FIGS. 5and 9). The size and shape of the positioning feature 15 and theorientation feature 23 are such that the vessel 10 does not fully dropinto the opening at the location 25 until the positioning feature 15aligns with the orientation feature 23 (i.e., the flats 16 and 24align). Instead, the rim of the positioning feature 15 rides on the flat24 of the orientation feature 23, preventing the vessel 10 from fallinginto the opening at the location 25, until the flats 16 and 24 areadjacent.

In this embodiment, the manipulator 200 includes a rotator 230 (such asa wheel or belt) that frictionally engages with the vessel 10 androtates the vessel 10 (e.g., in a clockwise direction when looking downon the vessel 10 as in FIG. 9). Although the rotator 230 includes amotor-driven wheel or belt and engages the vessel 10 by friction at therim, the rotator 230 may operate on the vessel 10 in other ways, such asby magnetic forces in attracting a magnet or magnetizable material onthe vessel 10, by moving the orientation feature 23 (e.g., rotating theflat section 24) so as to engage the positioning feature 15, and so on.FIGS. 6 and 10 show the vessel 10 partially rotated, and FIGS. 7 and 11show the vessel 10 fully rotated so that the positioning feature 15aligns with the orientation feature 23. In this embodiment, once thepositioning feature 15 and the orientation feature 23 are aligned, thevessel 10 drops further into the holder 20 as shown in FIG. 8, so thatthe bottom of the vessel 10 rests at the bottom of the opening of theholder 20. Of course, other arrangements are possible, such as thoseshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 where the vessel 10 is suspended at the location25, for example. Upon suitable alignment of the positioning feature 15and the orientation feature 23, the vessel 10 may drop into an alignmentorientation such that a reader 30 is able to more reliably read theidentification region 12 of the vessel 10.

It should be appreciated that an arrangement like that in FIGS. 4-11 maybe used to orient and identify a vessel 10, and then transfer the vessel10 to another portion of the manipulator 200 or other transport. Forexample, vessels 10 having random or unknown orientations and/oridentities may be dropped into a location 25 like that in FIGS. 4-11 sothat the vessel 10 can be properly oriented and have the identificationregion 12 is read. Thereafter, the now identified and oriented vessel 10may be transferred to a robotic manipulator, carousel, or other devicethat further transports the vessel 10. For example, the vessel 10 inFIG. 8 may drop through the opening at the location 25 into anotherholder or manipulator located below the location 25. Since theorientation of the vessel is defined as it exits from the location, thedownstream transport device may receive the vessel in a knownorientation.

In some embodiments, the holder may include an orientation feature thatis arranged to interact with the positioning feature of a vessel so asto move the vessel into an alignment orientation. Such an arrangementmay eliminate the need for a manipulator, such as the rotator 230 inFIG. 4, to move the vessel 10 and/or the orientation feature 23 so as tocause the vessel to move to an alignment orientation. For example, FIGS.12-15 show an illustrative orientation feature 23 that includes aslanted portion 32 that allows for the positioning feature 15 of thevessel 10 to effectively slide into a desired region of the orientationfeature 23 of the holder 20 regardless of how the vessel is initiallyplaced in the holder 20. As shown in FIG. 12, a vessel manipulator 200may hold a vessel 10 with a positioning feature 15 above the holder 20for placement at a particular location 25. In this embodiment, thepositioning feature 15 has a tab-like shape extending from the vessel 10like that in FIG. 1, but may be arranged in other suitable ways. Themanipulator 200 (or a human operator) may drop or otherwise move thevessel 10 into the location 25 (e.g., in a direction along the dashedarrow) with or without regard for the relative position of thepositioning feature 15 and the orientation feature 23. FIG. 13 shows thevessel 10 being received at the location 25 of the holder 20. In thisexample, the positioning feature 15 is located at a high side of theslanted portion 32. However, because of the arrangement of thepositioning feature 15 and the orientation feature 23, the vessel 10 maytend to rotate (e.g., under the pull of gravity or other force) so thatthe positioning feature 15 is located at a low side of the slantedportion 32 (which in this case includes a slot-like groove 33). FIG. 14shows the vessel 10 in the process of rotating (in a counterclockwisedirection looking down on the vessel 10) so that the positioning feature15 moves toward the slot 33. This rotation may be caused by gravitypulling down on the vessel 10 and/or another force, such as a rotator230 like that in FIG. 4. FIG. 15 shows the positioning feature 15 of thevessel 10 received in the slot 33 and the vessel 10 in the alignmentorientation. In this embodiment, the identification region 12 is now inview so as to be more reliably read by a reader 30. Alternately, theidentification region 12 may be read as the vessel 10 moves toward thealignment orientation. As a result of this process, a vessel 10 that isoriginally not in a desired alignment orientation may be automaticallybrought into an alignment orientation in the holder 20.

Although the orientation feature 23 of FIGS. 12-15 includes a slantedregion 32 that is positioned entirely around the opening to receive thevessel 10, the slanted region 32 could be arranged in other ways. Forexample, FIGS. 16 and 17 show another illustrative embodiment where theorientation feature 23 extends only partially around the opening of theholder 20. A top view of the vessel 10 in the holder 20 illustrated byFIG. 16 shows that the orientation feature 23 includes slanted portions32 on either side of a flat section 34 at a lowest point of theorientation feature 23. FIG. 17 shows a schematic cross-sectionillustration of a positioning feature 15 moving from an initial position(shown in dashed line) to a final position (shown in solid line) at theflat section 34 of the orientation feature 23. As shown, the orientationfeature 23 extends approximately 180 degrees around the opening of theholder, i.e., about 90 degrees on either side of the lowest point of theorientation feature 23. However, it should be appreciated that theorientation feature may extend in any suitable arrangement directionaround the opening of the holder as desired. For example, FIGS. 18 and19 show an arrangement in which a slanted portion 32 extends about 120degrees around the opening for the vessel 10 and is located on only oneside of a flat section 34. The orientation feature 23 also includes astop feature 38 that stops the positioning feature 15, as necessary, atthe flat section 34 after moving down the slanted portion 32.

As one of skill in the art will appreciate, a reader 30 may be able toread an identification region 12 when the region 12 is in sufficientlyclose proximity and orientation with respect to the reader 30. As such,the identification region 12 need not be positioned at a preciselocation, and thus a positioning feature 15 may not be required toengage with a specific region of the orientation feature 23, such as aflat section 34 or slot 33 in FIGS. 12-19. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 20and 21, the orientation feature 23 need not include a defined stop areafor the positioning feature 15, but instead may include a sloped region34 that has a continuously curved shape. As can be seen in FIGS. 20 and21, the positioning feature 15 of a vessel may move from higher regionsof the sloped region 34 to a generally lower area, e.g., under the pullof gravity along with vibratory movement of the holder 20. This movementmay not necessarily locate the positioning feature 15 at the sameposition relative to the holder 20 every time, but may position theidentification region 12 suitably close to an alignment orientation,e.g., to allow reading of the identification region 12 by the reader 30.

Although the embodiments above show the positioning feature 15 locatedat or near a top of the vessel 10, the positioning feature 15 mayinclude elements that are arranged in other ways. For example, thepositioning element 15 may be located at or near a bottom of the vessel10 and engage with a corresponding orientation feature 23 of the holder20. For example, FIGS. 22-24 show a positioning feature 15 that has agenerally rectangular box shape that depends from a bottom of the vessel10. The holder 20 in this embodiment may have an orientation feature 23that includes a rectangular hole near a bottom of an opening in theholder 20 that receives the vessel 10. The shapes of the positioningfeature 15 and the orientation feature 23 may be arranged so that thevessel 10 will only be fully received by the holder when the positioningfeature 15 is aligned with the orientation feature 23 so that thepositioning feature 15 may extend into the orientation feature 23. Inthis embodiment, the rectangular cross-sectional shape of thepositioning feature 15 may permit the positioning feature 15 to bereceived by the orientation feature 23 in any one of four differentrotational positions (0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270degrees rotation about the vessel's longitudinal axis, i.e., fouralignment orientations), but other shapes for the positioning feature 15may allow for full reception in the orientation feature 23 for onlythree different positions (e.g., for a triangular shape, i.e., threealignment orientations), only two different positions (e.g., for anelongated rectangular shape, i.e., two alignment orientations), or onlyone position (e.g., for an irregular shape). If the vessel 10 may bepositioned in multiple different ways with respect to a holder 20, thereader 30 and/or the identification feature 12 may be arranged so thatthe identification feature 12 is read regardless of the final positionof the vessel 10. For example, one or more readers 30 may be present forthe identification region 12 of the vessel 10 to be read. Alternatively,in some embodiments, a reader 30 may move its position, allowing for anidentification region 12 to be read at more than one alignmentorientation.

In another illustrative embodiment, the vessel and/or the holder mayinclude a positioning feature or orientation feature having a spiraltype configuration. For example and as depicted in FIG. 25, the vessel10 may include a positioning feature 15 that includes a spiral portionor thread and the holder 20 may include an orientation feature 23 thatincludes a spiral groove that receives the spiral positioning feature15. As will be understood, when the vessel 10 is placed in the holder20, the positioning feature 15 may engage with the orientation feature23 so that as the vessel 10 drops, the vessel 10 also rotates about itslongitudinal axis. When the vessel is located at a bottom of the openingof the holder 20, the identification feature 12 on the vessel 10 may bepositioned for reading by the reader 30. Alternately, the identificationfeature 12 may be read by the reader 30 as the vessel is dropping androtating into the holder 20. This type of configuration may help reduceor eliminate any requirement that the identification feature 12 be fixedon the vessel 10 in a particular way relative to the positioning feature15. Of course, the positioning feature 15 and/or the orientation feature23 may have other arrangements, such as having more threads incorporatedinto the positioning feature 15, the pitch of the thread may beadjusted, and so on. In some embodiments, friction between the vesseland the holder 20 may be minimized, for example, through addedlubrication or application of an appropriate coating to either of orboth surfaces. Such friction minimization allows for the vessel to moreeasily be placed into an alignment orientation for the identificationregion to be reliably read. In some embodiments, a vessel having aspiral portion is dropped into a holder and automatically settles intoan alignment orientation such that the identification region may beread.

The positioning feature and/or the orientation feature may have variousphysical structure or arrangements including, but not limited to: amagnet or magnetizable material (e.g., so that the positioning andorientation features may be attracted/repelled so as to place the vesselin an alignment orientation), a gear form (e.g., so that the positioningand orientation features engage gear teeth to orient the vessel),projecting and/or recessed parts (such as the tab extensions and groovearrangements described above), corresponding shaped components that fitin a lock and key type arrangement (such as the D-shaped rim and openingin FIGS. 4-11), a detent arrangement (e.g., where the orientationfeature includes a spring-loaded ball that engages with a positioningfeature that includes a hemispherical or other suitably shaped groove inthe vessel), a cam and cam follower arrangement (such as the orientationfeatures and positioning features of FIGS. 12-21 where the orientationfeature includes the cam in the form of a slanted portion and thepositioning feature includes a cam follower in the form of a tab-likeextension), a linkage (e.g., where the orientation feature includes aone or more bar linkage arrangement that serves to move or otherwiseorient the vessel when contacted by the vessel's positioning element),and so on.

Having described several aspects of this invention, it should beappreciated that various alterations, modifications and improvementswill occur to those of skill in the art. Such alterations, modificationsand improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure and areintended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, thedescription and drawings herein are intended to be illustrative, notlimiting.

The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and/orvariations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listedthereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in thespecification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in theclaims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements soconjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some casesand disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with“and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” ofthe elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be presentother than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause,whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.

It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one stepor act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarilylimited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method arerecited.

What is claimed is: 1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for handling andanalyzing samples, the method comprising: providing a vessel for holdingat least one sample, the vessel having an identification region forproviding biological information related to the at least one sample;inserting the vessel at least partially into a holder by inserting atleast a portion of the vessel through a receiving end of the holder;aligning a positioning feature of the vessel with an orientation featureof the holder; and after aligning the positioning feature with theorientation feature, further receiving the vessel into the holder suchthat the vessel is placed in an alignment orientation relative to theholder and a portion of the orientation feature closest to the receivingend of the holder becomes spaced from the positioning feature of thevessel.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of aligning thepositioning feature with the orientation feature comprises rotating thevessel while the vessel is at least partially received in the holder.23. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of aligning the positioningfeature with the orientation feature comprises rotating the vessel witha manipulator while the vessel is at least partially received in theholder.
 24. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of:reading the identification region of the vessel after the vessel hasbeen placed in the alignment orientation.
 25. The method of claim 21,further comprising the step of: reading the identification region of thevessel while the vessel is being moved toward the alignment orientation.26. The method of claim 21, wherein the step of aligning the positioningfeature with the orientation feature comprises rotating the vessel suchthat a portion of the vessel rides on a surface of the holder until thevessel reaches an orientation relative to the holder in which the vesseldrops further into the holder until the vessel is fully received in theholder.
 27. The method of claim 21, wherein the positioning featurecomprises a rim with a flat, and the orientation feature includes anopening with a flat portion that complements the flat of the positioningfeature.
 28. A system for handling and analyzing samples, the systemcomprising: a vessel for holding at least one biological sample, thevessel including an identification region for providing informationrelated to the at least one sample, and the vessel having a positioningfeature for placing the vessel in an alignment orientation; a holder forreceiving the vessel, the holder including an orientation feature thatcomplements the positioning feature of the vessel such that when thevessel is at least partially inserted into the holder and theorientation feature interacts with the positioning feature, the vesselis moved toward the alignment orientation relative to the holder; and areader for reading the identification region of the vessel and storingthe information related to the at least one sample, wherein thepositioning feature comprises a rim with a flat and the orientationfeature includes an opening with a flat portion that complements theflat of the positioning feature.
 29. The system of claim 28, furthercomprising a vessel manipulator that moves the vessel such that theorientation feature interacts with the positioning feature.
 30. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein the vessel is rotatable about 360 degreeswhile the vessel is at least partially received by the holder.
 31. Thesystem of claim 28, further comprising a manipulator for rotating thevessel while the vessel is at least partially received by the holder.32. The system of claim 28, wherein the identification region comprisesa bar code that represents an alphanumeric string.
 33. The system ofclaim 28, wherein the reader reads the identification region of thevessel after the vessel has been placed in the alignment orientation.34. The system of claim 28, wherein the reader reads the identificationregion of the vessel while the vessel is being moved toward thealignment orientation.